


night in the barn

by Fluoradine



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, Femslash February, Femslash February 2017, Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sleeping Together, Sleepovers, Sleepy Cuddles, two fics in one day wow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 06:38:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9708671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluoradine/pseuds/Fluoradine
Summary: Amethyst comforts Lapis during a sleepover.





	

The serene sounds of the countryside surrounded the five Gems piled into the barn. Crickets were chirping, owls were hooting, and the wind was blowing softly against the barn doors. Everyone inside had found sleep, and were barely making a sound. Pearl had curled up in a corner after being convinced by Garnet to at least give sleeping another try. What was the point of having a sleepover if none of them slept, anyway? Garnet herself was now snoring quietly in a hayloft, not too far away from Peridot on the couch. Amethyst knew she was the only one with her eyes open now.  
  
She hadn't meant to wake up, it had just happened. Bad dream she couldn't remember now was her best guess. She sat up inside the fort of pillows she'd constructed, adjusting her large shirt over her stomach. Amethyst was barely awake, still stuck halfway in between dreamland and the reality of the barn. It smelled like fresh grass and vegetables, and the night was so calm outside. The Crystal Gems had warped out here to spend the night with Lapis and Peridot, just to catch up after not having seen each other in so long. The whole 'sleeping over' thing was Steven's idea, who had to be talked into spending his night with Connie so that he didn't join them. And Amethyst had to admit, what he'd told them about sleepovers wasn't wrong. They really were fun. No one had mentioned anything bad all night. It had just been Camp Pining Hearts and telling terrible puns to each other for hours.  
  
Amethyst stretched her arms above her head. She wanted to lie back down and go back to sleep. She knew it wouldn't be an issue; she never had trouble sleeping before. She was the only Gem that did it voluntarily, or at least that she knew of. It was always great to lie down for a while and do nothing, while dreaming of cool places and things. Pearl and Garnet just saw it as a waste of time, and her excuse to stay home from missions. She was glad they'd both gotten the chance to try it again, actually. Now maybe Pearl might understand why Amethyst had jumped at the idea of a sleepover with Peridot and Lapis.  
  
Amethyst was about to lie back down and try counting sheep when she heard a soft sniffling. She stopped shifting around, listening to the quiet sounds of the barn. She heard it again. There was sniffling, but also shaky breaths coming from somewhere in the barn, pretty far away from Amethyst's pillow fort. She listened closely before realizing what the sound was. Someone was crying, very quietly, but still audible. It wasn't loud enough to wake up anyone else, but Amethyst was already up. She peeked her head out to check the dark barn for the crying Gem. No one was standing or sitting in an odd place. Pearl had a blanket draped over her in the corner, her legs splayed out like sticks. Peridot had somehow fallen off the couch and was now hanging by her foot caught in a string of Christmas lights. She couldn't see Garnet tucked away, and was about to forget it and go back to sleep when she remembered Lapis.  
  
Lapis had been okay all evening and into the night. She'd watched TV and chilled with them, joining the games they'd tried to play with enthusiasm. Everyone was happy to see her on her feet and having fun, especially Amethyst. Her recovery had been slow and steady so far, but there was no doubt she was in a much better place now than she was last year. Amethyst had seen her climb up into a hayloft after they'd hugged goodnight, but she hadn't seen her after that, even while Amethyst was rooting through their box of crappy romance novels for a bedtime story. It had to be her crying now; no one else seemed to be making a sound. And Amethyst wasn't going to lie there and let her girlfriend cry herself to sleep in the dark, with four Gems doing nothing to help her.  
  
Amethyst pulled on a pair of sweatpants, crawling out from the fort into the darkness of the barn. She was careful as she walked across the wooden floor, making as little squeaks as possible as she could, and avoiding tripping over the various meep morps that had been knocked onto the ground. She could still hear Lapis's staggered breathing, her sniffles and coughs in the otherwise calming silence. She climbed up into the hayloft, careful not to disturb Garnet on the other side, who was sleeping with her face to the floor like a log. "Psst. Lapis?" Amethyst whispered as she saw her lying on her side, the soft crying definitely coming from her.  
  
Lapis's staggered breathing stopped. "Amethyst?" she asked quietly, starting to sit up from the pillows she had been sleeping on top of.  
  
"No, don't get up. I'll come to you." Amethyst quietly crawled across the loft to where Lapis was, lying on her side in the sweater Amethyst had given to her the last time they were here. She looked tired, tears still in her eyes as Amethyst sat down next to her. Her hair had grown longer, and it was a mess of tangles now. She was hiding the rest of her face with her hands, and Amethyst reached to hold them.  
  
"What's wrong, babe?" she asked.  
  
"I can't sleep," Lapis said in between breaths. "I tried to, but I just can't. Having a sleepover sounded fun, but I can't do it right now."  
  
"That's okay. You don't have to sleep," Amethyst said. "Do you wanna go outside with me?"  
  
Lapis shook her head. "I'm alright. Did I wake you up?"  
  
"No, I was already up. And something tells me you're not all alright right now," Amethyst laid down next to Lapis on the pillows. "Do you wanna talk about it?"  
  
Lapis was silent for a little bit. She wasn't crying anymore, but she looked as if she was going to start again any minute now. Her hands were basically shaking in Amethyst's, her palms clammy. "You don't have to, I can just stay with you." Amethyst said.  
  
"It's okay," Lapis said. She took a sharp intake of breath, as if trying to calm herself. "It's just....I've never done this before. Sleep in the same room as other Gems. I never sleep when it's just me and Peridot. It feels weird when it's so quiet, and there's no one awake, and it's just me."  
  
"Were you worrying about something?" Amethyst asked her.  
  
Lapis sniffled. "I felt so alone again. Not a good alone. Isolated. Like you'd all forgotten me."  
  
"Lapis, you know I wouldn't forget about you." Amethyst said. She brushed a tear away as it fell from Lapis's eye. "You know you can always come find me if you feel bad."  
  
"But you haven't been here for so long," Lapis said. "Everything just feels wrong tonight. Like the world is messy. I just feel bad. There's no other way to put it."  
  
Amethyst understood how she felt. She'd stayed with Lapis when she had episodes like this, the reason always vague or nonexistent. But it was perfectly fine. Lapis had been through a lot. She was still recovering, and even though she was better, she was still working towards it. Amethyst had promised they wouldn't break it off because of Lapis's mental state. Amethyst promised to be there for her and support her through whatever happened, no matter how intense it may get. It was all because she cared about her that much. They'd get through it together, and she'd help Lapis get through it herself. Those were the promises they'd made, and they hadn't changed since they'd started dating. They both made each other better people, and helped each other out when things became too much to handle. Amethyst wouldn't change anything about their relationship for the world. She loved her girlfriend, and she knew Lapis loved her too.  
  
"It's okay," she whispered, and reached out to hold Lapis. "C'mere. You're not alone now." They laid side by side, Amethyst holding Lapis tight as the night echoed around them. Lapis buried her face into Amethyst's shirt. "You don't have to worry about anything."  
  
"Thank you." Lapis whispered, the sound muffled yet close in Amethyst's ear. She kissed the top of Lapis's head, and Lapis kissed her neck back. "You mean so much to me, Amethyst."  
  
Just hearing her say that made Amethyst feel good. She knew she was loved, and wanted to make sure Lapis knew she was loved, too. She kissed her again. "You mean more."  
  
They stayed like that for a long time, eventually finding a comfortable sleep in each other's arms.


End file.
